GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley refers Kavanaugh accuser to the DOJ for investigation

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is referring one of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's accusers to the Justice Department for a possible criminal investigation.

The Republican senator on Thursday referred both Julie Swetnick and attorney Michael Avenatti to the DOJ, saying they both may have made "materially false statements" to the committee. Swetnick last month submitted a sworn affidavit that claimed Kavanaugh was present at high school parties where women were drugged and gang raped. Kavanaugh denied the allegation and said he never went to parties like the ones she described. Although Swetnick did not testify before the Judiciary Committee, she did provide Congress with a sworn declaration.

Now, Grassley is accusing Swetnick and Avenatti of possibly committing three crimes: conspiracy, making false statements to Congress, and obstructing a congressional investigation. He says that an investigation is warranted because of "the obvious, subsequent contradictions along with the suspicious timing of the allegations."

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Avenatti on Twitter said he that welcomes the investigation as a way to "finally get to the bottom of Judge Kavanaugh's lies and conduct."